


Four but One: The Many Bracelets of Stark

by Dawnmoon76



Series: LGBTQ+ Moments (multifandom) [3]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Acceptance, Fear of Rejection, Gen, Genderfluid Character, Genderfluid Tony Stark, Maybe - Freeform, To Be Continued, Trans Tony Stark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-12
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-03-17 03:37:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13650621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dawnmoon76/pseuds/Dawnmoon76
Summary: Tony’s not sure how they’re gonna handle their gender identity and their team in one Tower. (Now continued!)Enjoy some bonding and fluff (there could be minor angst in future (so far unwritten and unplanned) chapters).





	1. Tony

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before we begin: I am not genderfluid. But I do identify as genderflux (a sort of subset of genderfluid I guess). 
> 
> Tony’s experience does not reflect the experience of all genderfluid people. This is one take of the experience by a person who does no identitfy as genderfluid.
> 
> Lastly, if you are genderfluid and there are things that are really super wrong, let me know (nicely though). If possible I will change it, if not I will remove this story as I don’t want to further perpetrate a falsehood.

When Steve first saw Tony on the Helicarrier he saw then dismissed the bracelet on the genius’ wrist. It had thought it a little odd, Tony Stark just didn’t seem like the type to wear jewelry, especially what looked to be a braided friendship bracelet. It was green with a few white strands braided through.

He should have asked about it after they saw Thor and Loki off to Asgard. The bracelet had changed from green to shades of blue.

He really should have wondered more after the Avengers had a meeting a few months later and was all but ordered to move into Tony’s Tower. It had been a mixed between blue and red at the time.

And in the few hours between that meeting and them moving in, it had disappeared completely.

He was curious about time to time. Every once in awhile his brain would just go _I wonder what those bracelets were for or why they changed._ But he had no real reason to ask. It wasn’t even really that important. But then he saw a strange behavior from Tony’s closest friends.

He had been sitting in the kitchen after his morning run when he heard Pepper’s heels coming towards him. Tony was at the coffee maker, surprisingly waking up rather than staying up. Steve looked over to great Pepper as she walked in. If he hadn’t he would have missed the scowl that passed over her face as she glanced at the area of the coffee maker. He got lost in thought as Tony and Pepper discussed something. He wondered why she looked like that. He mentally shrugged it off and went to take a shower.

The next time something happened was with Rhodey. Steve had been reading in the living room, still trying to catch up on some of the finer points in history, and also learn more about modern society and what kind of things had changed. Clint was playing video games with Natasha, and looking like he was losing if his cursing held any indication.

“Do you know where Tony is?” Rhodey asked from the doorway.

“Honeybear!” To his credit, Rhodey only grunted when Tony pounced on him. In order to get his arms over Rhodey’s shoulders he had to stand on his toes. Rhodey held a wrist to help him keep his balance. Steve glanced up in time to see a frown pass over the colonel’s face as his hand seemed to convulse around Tony’s wrist. Tony headbutted his friend gently, whispering something in his ear before letting go and dropping down to be flat footed.

“C’mon, Dummy missed you.” Tony pulled him away and he only had time to yell back a ‘Nice to see you!’ Before the elevator doors closed.

It had been later that week and Rhodey still there when something else caught his attention. They had been playing video games, although this seemed to be some sort of simulated battle between Iron Man and War Machine, unlike the bloody combat game Clint and Natasha had been playing earlier.

They both seemed absorbed in the game when Pepper had arrived. “Tony, I can’t find that prototype of the new phone. I’ve asked Jarvis but your workshop is a mess and I don’t want to accidentally blow myself up.”

Tony only hummed absentmindedly before huffing in satisfaction when War Machine seemed to lose control and altitude for a bit. Rhodey’s screen flashed red and Steve could only assume it was a mock up of the HUD of the suit. In comparison Tony’s had a lot more do dads and information.

“Tony.” Pepper huffed, more amused than anything else though. Tony still didn’t respond. Pepper glanced at Steve before looking back at Tony. “Tone.”

Now that in and of itself wasn’t weird. Various members of the team called him Tone or Tones. But Pepper never used any derivative of ‘Tony’.

“Yeah?”

“Prototype, workshop, blowing myself up?”

“You probably wouldn’t blow yourself up. Maybe lose an eyebrow or two.” There was a nauseating moment on Tony’s screen where the skyline spun and slipped in and out of view. How he was able to do this while actually in the suit was impressive. “But give me a moment to destroy him and I’ll grab it for you.”

“Who says you’ll be the one doing the destroying?” Rhodey ribbed. Twenty seconds later and his screen went dark. “Okay, but you had faster armor!”

“Sure, that was the reason. How about we go again but this time I’ll be War Machine. You can practice with the Iron Man armor while I get that phone.”

Then Pepper and Tony left.

A few weeks passed before Steve accidentally eavesdropped.

“Why haven’t you been wearing the bracelets?” Pepper sounded exasperated.

“I don’t want to field questions from the team.”

“Tonya, they’re not going to judge, and if they do, not only will I personally punch them, you can kick them out of the Tower.” Rhodey explained. Who was Tonya? He thought it was only Rhodey, Pepper, and Tony talking.

“But what if they know that? What if they pretend to be nice, or just straight up avoid me? That’s no basis for kicking someone out. And Rhodey, as much as I’d love to see you punch Captain America, I’m sure your hand would not survive. And Natasha could definitely take you down.”

“They’re not going to judge you. They’ll accept you.” In response Tony huffed a breath, seeming to end the conversation.

But a week later a bracelet was back on his wrist. The first day Steve saw it, it was the blue one. It stayed blue for and additional two days before it changed to red, one Steve hadn’t seen before. He kept note of the colors but there didn’t seem to be rhyme or reason for the order he wore them in. He did notice that the blue always seemed to be on more often for consecutive days, but it wasn’t worn the majority of the time. The green also seemed to frequent his wrist.

Every so often he’d see Natasha looking at Tony’s wrist, scrutinizing it. It looked like she couldn’t find a pattern either.

Apparently her breaking point came the following Thursday during movie night. Steve heard her frustrated growl only thanks to his serum enhanced hearing. She launched out of her seat, disrupting Clint who had been leaning on her, her blanket fell to the floor. She grabbed Tony’s wrist as he was distracted talking to Bruce waiting for the movie to be picked. The genius startled and turned wide eyes up to Natasha who had a terrifying expression on.

“Explain!” She demanded as she waved Tony’s wrist, the one with the bracelet. Tony looked surprised at the demand. He swallowed a little nervously but answered.

“I’m a man.” If anything she looked even more frustrated.

“I know that! What are these bracelets and why do they randomly change color!?” Tony’s throat worked.

“I’ve been wondering that as well.” Steve said.

“It’s blue—“

“Stop stating the obvious!”

“Denoting that I am a man. When it’s red I am a woman.”

There was a long pause. Natasha only stared at Tony, Bruce stared a the ground, held tilted in thought. Steve was confused, Tony was a woman? But he had also just said that he was a man?

“You’re genderfluid.” Clint said from his place on the couch.

“Y-yeah.” Tony’s face was heating up a little, probably from the nerves of coming out.

“But there’s two others.” Steve said. “The green one and the blue and red one.”

“Green is agender and blue/red one is bigender.” He was still talking too fast and his eyes didn’t settle on any one person.

Clint must have caught the confusion on some of their faces and explained. “Agender is having no gender and bigender is two genders at the same time, right?” He directed at Tony who nodded.

“What are the bracelets for?” Natasha asked, relaxing and heading back to her seat. Without having the assassin standing over him Tony seemed to relax more.

“I got tired of telling Rhodey what my gender was everyday, so I wear the bracelets to let him know.”

“Would you like us to use different pronouns denoted by the bracelets?” Bruce asked gently from Tony’s side.

“Uh, yeah. Man and woman are pretty straight forward. They//them for agender and uh—this may be weird to you but xe/xyr? For bigender. And...and it’s Tonya when I’m a woman, and Tones when I’m agender.”* Tony’s shoulders hitched up slightly toward his ears. He was staring hard at Bruce’s left foot. Even though he was comfortable in his identity it was hard to bare himself to these people. Who probably never even questioned their gender.

Saying it all out loud made him think of people online telling him that he was a “special snowflake” (of course they didn’t know it was Tony Stark they were talking to). He almost wished he could take the words from air and shove them back into his brain. His leg started to bounce restlessly. No one spoke and it was ratcheting up his anxiety.

“Okay, I’ll try.” It was so simple. Just three simple words but it nearly made Tony tear up. His leg continued to bounce but he looked up to make eye contact with Bruce. His science bro had a warm smile on his face and there was a caring light in his eyes.

“So will I.” Again, three stupidly simple words. He turned his attention to Steve, his leg falling still, the man out of time looked confused but accepting and Tony made a mental note to educate the man.

“No problem, man.” Clint smiled as if it was no big deal. Like it was normal to have four sets of pronouns and three names.

Natasha gave a short nod, a seemingly stern action, softened by her soft smile.

“Loki also changes gender. I shall be happy to use what makes you comfortable!” Thor was beaming.

Tony swallowed several times and took twice as many breaths before he could speak. “Thanks guys.”

After that no one wanted to speak. If felt like they shouldn’t move on so quickly but yet if they stayed quiet then maybe Tony would think that his gender identity really was a problem for them.

“Soooo,” Tony tucked his feet up under the blanket. “Was the movie ever picked?”

Clint blinked before looking to the floor where several DVDs lay. He and Natasha had been discussing them before she had launched up. “No.”

“Hey, J? Surprise us?” Everyone relaxed when the lights were turned off and Jarvis started _Pacific Rim_.

Clint blinked open his eyes the following morning. They all had ended up falling asleep during the movie. He scanned over everyone, he was on his back, Natasha on his chest. Both Tony and Bruce had ended up falling over, Tony between the back of the couch and Bruce. Steve had apparently kicked Thor off the couch at some point because the god was snoring away on the ground while Steve had the couch to himself. Natasha was definitely awake since she would have sensed the change in his breathing but she remained still with her eyes closed.

Clint looked back to Tony. He thought back to the genuis’ coming out. He was happy now that Tony—he glanced at the visible wrist in case it somehow changed in the night—could really be himself around them. He wasn’t sure if Tony’s gender expression changed but he would totally be supportive.

The bracelet remained blue for another day before it changed to red. Everyone on the team had tried to start the habit of looking at the billionaire’s wrist before throwing out a greeting. Before anyone could say anything Natasha stood. “Let’s go shopping Tonya.” She startled in the doorway to the kitchen as Natasha approached her.

“I wanna come!” Clint said, hurriedly stuffing the last of his waffle in his mouth.

“Girls only.” Natasha threw over her shoulder. Tonya still looked perplexed but smiled at Natasha’s proclamation.

“Wait, I haven’t eaten!”

“We’ll go out.” Tonya laughed, going along with it.

“See ya guys!” The group in the kitchen heard the elevator doors close. Ten minutes later it opened again and Pepper strolled in.

“Where’s Tony?”

“She was kidnapped by Natasha.” Pepper apparently hadn’t noticed the pronoun change by the pouting Clint.

“Why?”

“Shopping.” Steve shrugged.

“Huh, that’s weird that she’d choose—“ Pepper stopped before making eye contact with everyone. Ending with Clint. “You used ‘she’.” Despite being a statement there was an unspoken question with it.

“She came out to us a couple nights ago. Natasha wanted to know what the bracelets were for and why they changed so randomly.” Clint answered.

“Why didn’t she tell me!?” Exasperated, Pepper took Natasha’s vacated seat. “I hope they don’t kill each other while out.”

Luckily neither woman killed the other. Pepper berated Tonya for not telling her she had come out. After a couple weeks everyone got used to checking Tony’s wrist for their gender and had switched to they/them when they weren’t present.

Of course, there would always be a few hiccups...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mainly wanted to write this because of the bracelets. I saw on tumblr that a genderfluid person’s friend gave them a set of bracelets denoting what gender they were that day. Ever since I saw it I wanted to write a story about it. I was going to just do genderflux but I wanted more than two (maybe three) bracelets involved.
> 
> *You may have noted that it wasn’t clarified what Tony’s name is when bigender. I wasn’t sure what to put so let’s just say it’s also Tones.
> 
> Lemme know if you want some sort of continuation. Ideas welcome!


	2. Natasha

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cpt_Badonkadonk prodded me into thinking about the shopping trip. I was planning on going more in depth but that’s just not the direction the fic wanted to go. And I realized how frickin’ hard it is for me to write women. I hope it doesn’t sound too awkward. Let me know what you think?

Despite her initial willingness of going shopping with Natasha, Tonya wasn’t so sure.

“Do you need to finish getting ready?” She turned her attention to the assassin holding her wrist.

“Uh,” Typically she dresses more femininely when Tonya, right now she was just in a t-shirt and jeans. Even if she came out to the team she didn’t want to see their reactions if she were to dress more obviously female. “If you don’t mind...I’d like to change into a skirt...”

“Oh, sure. I need to brush my teeth. I’ll meet you in your living room in 15?”

Tonya stared after the assassin as she sashayed away. Natasha didn’t find it weird, or at least outwardly show it. Tonya was still holding her breath if the team changed their mind and rejected her.

She moved to her room to figure out what she wanted to wear. Definitely a skirt, probably the dark blue knee length one, she was glad she shaved that morning, and probably the black sweater, or maybe the pink blouse. Tonya shrugged and decided she needed to brush her teeth too, even if she hadn’t eaten yet. That done she studied her hair. It was long enough on top that she decided to swoop it more forward. It had a softening effect on her face, she turned her head side to side, studying the overall look. There was nothing to be done about her jawline but makeup was a wonderful thing and it wasn’t quite as masculine as before.

After Natasha left Tonya to get ready she did brush her teeth but that didn’t quite take fifteen minutes. Natasha had time to think. After Tonya came out to them, in the following days she read all she could about genderfluidity and how to best support friends who were genderfluid. It was sometime into her seventh hour of reading that it struck her. She had practically forced Tonya to come out. That was pretty much at the top of all the DO NOT DO lists. Don’t out someone/don’t force someone to come out. Part of the reason she banned Clint from the trip was so she could apologize to Tonya in private. (But a bigger reason was one article said try some gender affirming activities plus she did want to bond with Tonya.)

After ruffling through her clothes so she could change out of her pajamas, she settled on her black jeans and blue plaid shirt. She slipped a knife into each boot and made sure her gun was secure in her jacket, it was small enough that it wouldn’t be noticed.

She was still a little earlier than fifteen minutes but headed to Tonya’s floor anyway. She could hear Tonya singing softly to herself, she paused and hummed before continuing. Natasha stayed where she was, fiddling on her phone. Then Tonya stopped singing suddenly. It sounded...off, the silence.

She rose silently. “Hey Tonya, you ready?” She walked towards her bedroom.

“Ah, almost.” Somehow her voice sound _off_. And Natasha couldn’t figure out _how_.

“Are you okay?” She gently pushed the door open, knowing that her voice would alert Tonya to where she was. She saw Tonya standing by her bed, a white cami and back sweater laying on it. She looked at Tonya’s face then down to what she was holding—a bra, with what looked to be fake breasts in them. It took Natasha a second but she realized what the problem was. Tonya was self-conscious. She had only recently come out and now would be the first time she didn’t dress either neutrally or masculinely in front of one of them.

“Yeah, I just-I mean,” Tonya cut herself off.

“I hate wearing bras too but that doesn’t mean I try to stare them into submission. Hurry up, if we stay any longer I’m sure Clint will figure out a way to join us.” Natasha smiled, allowing Tonya the out. She smiled, relieved before putting on the bra. Along with the cami and sweater the outfit was complete.

Natasha had to admit, it was a little strange. She was used to _Tony_ and it was...different to see a person she’s used to seeing as male, as a female. Tonya was beautiful, and Natasha couldn’t wait to see her in different outfits.

“You look beautiful.” The assassin complimented.

Tonya gave a bashful little smile, and looked away. “Thanks.”

“Let’s head out, food first.” Natasha grinned.

“Alright.” Tonya smiled brightly, grabbing a purse.

~~~

Natasha wiped her mouth and took a drink of water. Her and Tonya talked through breakfast. It was a little strange, Tonya was still into engineering and things of that nature but how she expressed it was different. _(And really, Natasha had to stop pretending Tonya and Tony were two different people. She didn’t mean to but that’s just how her brain sorted the given information.)_ But they found common ground among TV shows, video games, and Natasha’s gear.

“Hey Tonya?” Natasha broke the silence.

The genius looked up at her while still ducking her head down to scoop the last of her potatoes into her mouth. “Yeah?”

“I want to apologize.” The assassin glanced at Tonya’s face before looking at the genius’s plate.

Tonya swallowed. “What for?” She put her fork down onto her plate.

“I pretty much forced you to come out that night.” She felt so guilty now.

Natasha looked up at Tonya after a moment of silence. She looked vaguely amused and confused. “I didn’t have to come out then. I could have lied. I could have refused to answer and Steve would’ve told you to back off. I could have left. But I didn’t. Nat, I _wanted_ to come out. I didn’t know how. You gave me the perfect opportunity. That’s why I started wearing the bracelets again. I waiting for one of you to ask me. I honestly thought Steve was going to ask with how much time he spent staring at my wrist.” Natasha slowly smiled at Tonya’s earnest face. “So, thank you.”

The assassin shook her head slowly in amusement. “He’s too polite to ask if he thinks it’s none of his business.” They both giggled. “Well, you ready to move on?” And with that they put the conversation behind them. Paying for breakfast and heading to the first store Tonya started to get nervous again. Most of her shopping happened online. Did she pass well enough? What if someone recognized her? _Tony Stark Drag Queen?_ She could see the headlines now. Nevermind that she’s gone out before and was never recognized. What if Nat was noticed? What if-

“Tonya?” It was Natasha’s voice that made her blink back to reality.

“Y-yeah?” She internally cursed the nervous stutter.

“Are you alright?” Nat gently tugged her out of the foot traffic to stand next to a building.

“Yeah, fine.” Natasha didn’t look like she believed her. “Okay, so a little nervous. I don’t go out often as Tonya.”

There was a spark of recognition in Natasha’s eyes. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have just dragged you away this morning. I should have considered—“

“It’s okay!” Tonya was a little amused at Natasha. “I wanted to go, still do. Anxiety is going to happen either way. Just-just be patient with me, okay?” Natasha nodded and they headed back into the busy sidewalk traffic.

They stuck with small stores and boutiques. Narrowly avoided an incident where Tonya nearly got kicked out of a ‘woman’s only’ store (along with another masculine looking girl). They left quickly after that because they didn’t want to shop at a store that judge people so quickly based on appearance.

They got mistaken as a couple a multitude of times (Tonya felt better when they were holding hands, it reminded her she wasn’t alone). It was amusing how many times people told them they were “The cutest couple they’ve ever seen”. By the time lunch rolled around they just went with it. They got a free rainbow frosted brownie from the restaurant when they said it was their anniversary (well technically it had been almost a year since Natasha first started spying on her).

After another hour or so they were in the Tower, on their way up. They dropped off their bags on their respective floors before heading to the communal floor. They were still laughing as they exited the elevator, they failed to notice the others as they headed to the kitchen.

Clint was just weirded out about Natasha giggling her head off. “Hey guys.”

Tonya stopped immediately, scanning the room with wide eyes. Her shoulders hitched up higher and she crossed her arms over her chest. Nat stopped soon after, glancing at Tonya. The assassin then looked the men in the room. Warning them with her eyes.

“Bring me back anything?” Clint joked, smiling.

“There’s bird feed waiting in your kitchen.” Nat sauntered to the couch, flopping back. There was space between her and the arm in case Tonya didn’t want to be next to too many people.

Tonya snorted a laugh, walking over and relaxing next to Nat.

“Had fun, girls?” Steve walked in from the kitchen. It was such a dad thing to say, that and his clothes made Tonya laugh. Natasha smirked next to her. “I’ll take that as a yes.” He smiled as he sat down.

Clint was happy to see Tonya relaxing. He was surprised when she walked in. She was dressed so much more femininely than he was used to. It was a bit odd but nothing he coudn’t get used to.

They spent more time hanging out, deciding on an impromptu movie night. About thirty minutes into the movie Tonya excused herself. Natasha glanced back at the elevator as she returned. She took in the clothes, leggings and a long shirt before sighting the bracelet, it changed. Natasha smiled at Tones and xe smiled shyly back. Xe rejoined them on the couch, sliding under the blanket, stealing the bowl of popcorn from Clint. Tones tucked xyr legs under xymself. They all settled in to finish the movie, watching one more before dispersing to bed.

“Thanks, Nat. Today really meant a lot to me.” Tones smiled.

“You’re welcome. I had a lot of fun.” Nat gave xym a hug, squeezing lightly before letting go. “Good night.”

“Night, Nat. See ya tomorrow.”

Tones fell asleep feeling the happiest xe felt in a long time. It felt like xe didn’t need to hold xyr breath anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if I stumbled over any pronouns. Since it was mostly she/her I think I should be okay. But I did catch myself typing ‘she’ when I was actually refering to Steve. Whoops. 
> 
> Also if anyone else has any suggestions of specific scenes they want to see lemme know and I can play in this universe more.


	3. Steve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! Hope you enjoy this next chapter. Not much action but I still thought it was worth posting.

 She started watching Steve after the fifth pronoun slip without correction.

“Who’s books is this?” He had asked one day. The book in question was laying rather haphazardly open and face down in the middle of the floor.

“I think it’s Tone’s.” Clint kicked his legs over the back of the couch, watching the TV upside down.

“I’ll put it in h-is room.” The hesitation was slight but noticeable. Natasha lifted her head to watch Steve’s back as he left, he was tense.

Tones had said that they would prefer neutral names and pronouns if the team didn’t know for certain and male ones when talking to the public. A month or so after Tones had come out the team was doing okay. Clint had the least amount of stumbling. Natasha had some trouble, electing to avoid pronouns for a while until she got it (she usually got the names right since she was used to a revolving door of names while undercover). Bruce still stumbled but apologized quietly and unobtrusively before saying the correct name or pronoun and moving on. Natasha was almost certain Thor’s Allspeak helped him get it right from the get go as he never messed up, or maybe it was his experience with Loki.

But Steve, Steve never corrected himself. Had the hardest time with the xe/xym/xyr pronouns. Sometimes he would get it right, usually only if they had been hanging as a group and the others were using the right pronouns. He never apologized, at least never right away. And if the way Tones was looking at Steve, he never apologized in private either.

Clint stumbled into Natasha as she flung her hand out to stop him. She tapped him their signal to stay quiet. He realized why as he heard voices in the kitchen. He wasn’t sure what he had missed already but it sounded like it just started.

“Tones.” Tones said.

“Ah, right.” Clint could practically hear the wince in Steve’s voice.

“I get that it can be hard but it feels like you’re not even trying.” Natasha dropped her arm her eyes narrowing.

There was a long silence where Clint heard someone pour a drink and the clink of silverware on a dish.

“It’s-it’s just a little much. I mean four sets of pronoun? One of them is uh—“

“Not ‘normal’?” Clint thought there had to be an eye roll in there somewhere.

“No, no! Just, uh, new.” That sounded a lot more like a question than it should’ve been.

Heedless of Nat’s grabbing hand he entered the kitchen. Steve was at the island with a bowl of cereal, Tones was standing across from him, a mug of coffee held close to their chest. He was glad he interrupted when he did. Tones clearly had their hackles up, arched like a cat that was about to attack.

“Mornin’ peeps!” He greeted cheerfully. He gave Tones a peck on the cheek ‘cause he could before pulling open the fridge next to them.

Natasha followed more sedately behind him, grabbing a bowl and spoon and stealing Steve’s box of cereal.

“Good morning, Clint, Nat.” Steve greeted them. Clint slid the milk to Natasha before grabbing the eggs and cheese.

Tones didn’t say anything, they were still tense and glaring at Steve, their fingertips were white where they were gripping their mug.

“You want an omelette, Tones?” Steve glanced up when they didn’t respond right away. Clint put a hand on their shoulder to grab their attention. “Tones?”

“I want to be left alone.” They announced before breezing out of the kitchen.

“Ow!” Steve yelped. Clint could only guess Natasha did something. She only kept chewing.

“You need to practice more,” Natasha said.

“I’ve been trying!”

“I have only ever heard you use male pronouns for them unless we’re in a group and everyone else is using the correct pronouns. I’ve heard you call them Tonya only once.”

Clint had his back to them as he made his breakfast. He pulled out his phone to text Jarvis to ask whether Tones had eaten yet. He didn’t want to interrupt the two behind him.

“It’s hard to change every time I see him!”

“Them!” Steve flinched as Natasha slammed a fist down onto the counter.

“There’s another thing I’ve noticed,” Clint said as he leaned against the counter, waiting for his eggs to cook a little before he added the cheese. “You never apologize.

“I don’t want to bring attention to it.” Steve defended.

“They’re aware when you mess up.”

“Bruce still messes up but he apologizes. I bet you don’t notice that.” Clint crossed his arms. Excluding Cap, Bruce messed up the most but even that was only about thirty percent of the time.

Steve only ducked his head and ate another bite.

Clint turned back to the stove, reading the text from Jarvis. Frowning he finished his omelette before starting another one.

The kitchen was silent as Bruce shuffled in. He hummed a greeting and grabbed his mug to start making his morning cup of tea.

“Bruce, tell Steve how you practice Tone’s names and pronouns,” Natasha demanded.

“Hm?” Bruce blinked his eyes open more in an effort to wake up.

“He doesn’t try to correct himself or apologize.” Clint turned the stove off.

“How did you make the switch?” Natasha asked again.

“I talk to Jarvis a lot. I tell him which pronouns I want to practice and he’ll correct me if I say anything else besides those.” Bruce stirred in some honey.

“I’m gonna take this to Tones.” He grabbed two forks and the plates and left.

Once he was in the elevator he addressed Jarvis. “Does Tones actually want to be left alone?” Sometimes they say they do but it was only applicable to one person and not all of them.

“Mx. Stark may be amicable to your presence.” Code for ‘Don’t be the person who made them angry in the first place and don’t be antagonistic and you could probably stay’.

He released a breath and let his shoulders drop. He didn’t want Tones to see how tense and angry he was.

The doors opened and he was surprised to find he was on Tone’s floor instead of the lab. He lifted the plates higher as a stress ball was chucked at him. It bounced off his chest harmlessly and he was impressed by their aim.

“I brought breakfast.” He said with a slight smile. Tones was standing in front of their couch and had probably been pacing before throwing the ball. They jerked their head as an invitation for Clint to wander in farther.

“I’m angry but I shouldn’t be.” Clint set the plates down on the coffee table.

“Why do you say that?”

Tones scowled to the right of his head. They opened and closed their mouth a couple of times. “I’m angry but shouldn’t take it out on Steve.” They amended.

“I’m thinkin’ you should.”

“Why?” Their arms were crossed.

“To really drive home that he’s hurting you.”

There was a stunted inhale before they sighed. “I don’t want to talk about it right now.” Tones slumped down and grabbed a plate.

“Wanna watch TV then?” Clint grabbed his own plate before sitting close to the billionaire. Tones nodded and Jarvis switched on the TV.

~~~

Steve winced at the angry aura around Natasha as she left the kitchen. Bruce seemed unaffected as he made a second cup of tea and waited for his toast to be done.

He miserably toyed with the last soggy bits of his cereal and kept his eyes down.

“Why is it so hard for you?” Bruce turned, setting his mug and plate down before taking a seat. “Is it because of when you grew up?”

How bizarre was his life that the question, with how young he technically was, was _when_ not where.

“I don’t-I don’t think so? I mean, gender wasn’t really a...thing?” Steve glanced up and met Bruce’s patient eyes before darting away to stare at the sink. “I mean it existed but...” His eyes darted around the room. “I always supported same sex couples. I never understood the hate for that. But there were only two genders. Man and woman.

“But now there-there’s agender? And bigender? And I don’t think I really understand because isn’t Tony a man? And now ‘they’ is for one person? And there’s uh...the other ones?”

“Are you worried you’ll look stupid if you stumble over names and pronouns?”

A sort of cut off ‘Ah!’ escaped Steve.

“You’re self-conscience aren’t you? All these words, all the labels, it’s sudden and jarring, isn’t it? But Steve, you have to remember that it isn’t weird, not to us. We won’t judge you for messing up. But we are judging you for not trying. Even if you don’t mean it, you’re giving off the signal that you don’t care—at best. Worst case? Especially in Tony’s m—Tone’s mind? You’re doing it on purpose to maliciously hurt them.”

“No!” The spoon clattered into his bowl as he finally made eye contact. “I just—I just forget. And then I remember but then it’s too late.”

“Too late to what?” Bruce drank from his mug, watching Steve over the rim.

“To correct myself. By the time I remember or realize then the moment has passed!”

“Then apologize after. In private.”

“I don’t want to make it a big deal.”

Bruce leaned forward. “Tone is aware of how you refer to them. Maybe hyper aware. Every time you don’t apologize, every time you look like you’re not trying hurts them further.”

“I don’t want to hurt h—“ Steve swallowed. “Them.”

“Good.” Bruce relaxed back in his chair. “I can help you if you want. With understanding or practice and I’ll try my best.”

“Please.”

“We can start tonight, after dinner? I have some work I need to do.”

“Yes, of course. Thank you.” 

From her hidden spot, Natasha frowned. She hoped Steve was sincere. He really didn’t seem like he wanted to hurt Tones. But if that was the case, why didn’t he try harder sooner?

She walked out of hearing distance of the kitchen.

“Jarvis, how’s Tones?”

“Mx. Stark is currently insulting the television with Agent Barton. They are feeling better.”

Natasha hummed. “Thanks, Jarvis.”

~~~

"Can you let everyone know that dinner's ready, Jarvis?" Bruce asked as he poured the rest of the potatoes into a bowl in case anyone wanted more.

"Of course."

Natasha strolled in first, followed closely by Thor. Tone came in laughing with Clint, Bruce was glad xe was feeling better. It took another couple of minutes for Steve to appear. Bruce caught him hovering in the doorway, visibly nervous as he eyed Tone's bracelet. The neopronouns were, by far, the hardest for Steve to use. He took a breath and joined the group who were just finding places at the table.

Sometime after Clint choking on a carrot and Thor pounding his back, Steve launched into a story.

Tone and Steve were often paired for publicity. They were both great in front of a crowd and between them, most of America liked them. Some were drawn to Captian America and his wholesomeness and others liked Tony for his charisma and for being the most human on the team. He was just a guy with advanced technology fighting side by side with specially trained spies, a supersoldier, and god alien.

"So then," Steve chuckled, "then Ara just suddenly appears on the top of this reporter's camera." Ara was a spy device that ended up looking not unlike a spider. Tone was bringing her out into the field to test her and see how well the rudimentary AI worked. 

"I have no idea how she got that far from me." Tone shook xyr head.

"The guy's reaction was hilarious! And you guys should've seen the shock of everyone else when h-" Steve swallowed, relieved that it looked like a natural pause for breath. "When xe simply commanded Ara back. They all though xe was some sort of spider whisperer!"

Tone laughed. The publicity stunt turned into a Q&A about what sort of experiments he was running on the spider. None of them could create a coherent question.

Bruce smiled into his drink. Steve was making an effort.

After dinner, Natasha and Clint stayed behind to clean up. Thor was called away but it didn't seem urgent so the others didn't worry. Bruce made eye contact with Steve, gesturing with his head out the door, a question on his face. Steve glanced at Tone, holding up a finger and mouthing 'one moment?'.

"Hey, Tone? Can I talk to you for a second?" He said it quietly but Bruce still saw Natasha shift her head and Clint tense.

"Uh, sure, Cap." Tone picked up on the unsaid 'in private' and got up to lead to two of them into the living room. "What's up?"

Steve hunched a little, playing with his fingers. "I wanted to apologize for using the wrong pronouns so much and for not trying hard enough. I'm going to practice with Bruce and Jarvis."

Steve's heart broke at the shock on Tone's face. Xe really thought Steve didn't care enough.

Xyr face fell back to a generally polite mask. "It's okay." Xe tried to brush off.

"No," Steve said softly. "I should've tried harder or, or....something. I just wanted to tell you it didn't come from a place of wanting to hurt you. I was afraid of messing up. I am sorry, Tone."

Tone's face softened into something genuine. "Thank you." Xe smiled. "Do you want to watch a movie or something?"

"Actually, I was going to have my first practice lesson tonight."

"Oh," Tone paused, "Well, I suppose good luck." Xe started to walked away but turned xyr head back. "And really, thank you."

Natasha's eyes sought out Tone once xe returned but xe seemed okay, lighter somehow.

Steve left with Bruce and the three of them were left in silence only broken by the running water and clinking of plates. While they did have a dishwasher they found it easier that after meals they hand washed dishes but after individual snacks and such, they are put in the washer. Otherwise, they would have to turn it on every day if not after every meal.

"So," Clint broke the silence, "Anyone up for video games?" He glanced at Natasha briefly but his eyes landed on who his question was truly for.

"I need to finish something for Fury." She dried her hands briefly before breezing out of the kitchen, giving Tone's shoulder a light squeeze before disappearing down the hallway.

"Sure." Tone smiled, grabbing a towel to help Clint with the last of the glasses.

Xe felt better after Steve had talked to xem. Xe knew, logically, that Steve wouldn't hurt xem like that. But logic had a hard fight against xyr feelings. Tone tried not to think about if Steve was really committed this time or if he'd try for a little bit before giving up.

Xe brushed the thought away while Clint set up the game, tossing a controller in xyr lap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if there were any hiccups with the pronouns? The section before the spider but was meant to use he/him pronouns. But if there were any other inconsistencies let me know. Neopronouns don't come naturally to me yet. 
> 
> And QUESTION: Would anyone mind if I got Clint and Tones together? I set up little seeds in this chapter to continue it and CLint might have his own chapter later. I'm not sure.
> 
> ALSO! Any other scenes or ideas? I really don't have any sort of plan beyond maybe getting Clint and Tones together.


End file.
